Chapter 164 Do You Need Me to Pursue You
The couple resumed their long-distance relationship. However, it was different from before. They didn't argue or give each other the cold shoulder. Every evening, they would have video calls. Sometimes Tan Zheng would initiate the call, but more often it was Song Ni. Because Tan Zheng was constantly busy, he only truly relaxed during the times Song Ni called him.
Song Ni had heard a lot about Tan Zheng from Song Jing, such as how after returning to Tan Corporation, he had made sweeping changes and implemented drastic reforms. Chairman Tan, Tan Zheng's father, had merely turned a blind eye, actually using Tan Zheng's actions to eliminate the "tumors" within the group. Besides Song Jing, she had also heard many praises for Tan Zheng from her father. People in the industry said Tan Zheng's methods were ruthless, striking invisibly yet fatally. Others said Tan Zheng's return to Tan Corporation had brought new vitality to the group, and its trajectory was about to change. Some even said the Tan family was rising too quickly, producing one chairman after another, with talent emerging in abundance. There were even those who regretted Tan Zheng marrying too soon.
Song Ni found these comments amusing. Deep-rooted families had always possessed an inexplicable sense of superiority over newly rising families. Even as their own strength was gradually being matched by the Tan family, they were unwilling to abandon such prejudices. Now that they discovered Tan Zheng was a rare business prodigy and that he also owned GN Group, they shamelessly wanted to establish connections with him. She could even predict their ignoble methods: finding a good opportunity to send their daughters to Tan Zheng's bed. Of course, it was also possible they had such plans even with Tan Zheng married. They probably thought it was just another marriage of convenience, and Tan Zheng had no feelings for her, Song Ni.
Song Ni had learned all this from Qin Yang. Qin Yang held a senior position at Qin Corporation and also attended various gatherings organized by the young ladies of influential families, thus having more information than Song Ni. "Ni Ni, Elder Tan is quite the hot commodity now. A lot of women are after him. You're not in Star City right now, and some of them are shameless. Who knows what they might do."
Song Ni, however, was not worried at all. She was confident that Tan Zheng would not be tempted by superficial beauty. A man like him, she thought, would likely disdain such low-level tactics. As expected, two days later, Qin Yang brought news that the youngest daughter of the Chen family had pulled strings within her family and sneaked into Tan Zheng's hotel room. She was then thrown out by Tan Zheng, and the next day, the Chen family suffered retaliation from Tan Zheng. Song Ni just listened to these accounts, never mentioning a word of them to Tan Zheng.
During their video calls, she could see the fatigue in Tan Zheng's eyes. After all, managing the affairs of two groups, no matter how outstanding one was, was extremely arduous. Song Ni wasn't afraid of disturbing Tan Zheng. She had called Su Qing and learned that only during the video calls with her did Tan Zheng truly relax. Given this attitude, it was no wonder he had developed a stomach ailment from overwork before.
Tonight, Song Ni had made a mistake while practicing driving, making her video call to Tan Zheng nearly an hour later than usual. As soon as the call connected, the man asked impatiently, "Why are you so late today? Did you finish work late?" Song Ni gave a vague reply. Had she been late on previous days, Tan Zheng would have called her. "You, too? Just finished work?" "Mm, finished a meeting." Song Ni had fallen and injured her arm. Holding her phone for the video call was uncomfortable, so she sat down at the simple bar counter in her room, propped up her phone, and poured herself a glass of wine.
"I heard from Lu Fang that you're deliberately making things difficult for him with that project in Nancheng. Why?" Tan Zheng tossed the documents in his hand aside and rubbed his forehead. "I'm just following normal procedures." The so-called difficulty was simply Lu Fang's subconscious assumption that negotiating with Tan Zheng would make the project cooperation much easier. Song Ni took a sip of wine, twirling a lock of her slightly damp hair. "Is it because of me?" After suffering at Tan Zheng's hands, Lu Fang had called Song Ni in a fit of anger, complaining about Tan Zheng in every way possible. He truly couldn't fathom why Tan Zheng would deliberately impede him on this project. While it wouldn't cause the deal to collapse, it was troublesome. After much thought, Lu Fang could only think of Song Ni as the reason, but he couldn't understand how he had offended Song Ni to make Tan Zheng act this way.
Tan Zheng didn't answer Song Ni's question directly. Instead, he frowned and examined her closely. "You've lost weight again." Other people gain weight in winter, but Song Ni keeps losing it. Song Ni's expression faltered, and then she smiled nonchalantly. "It's just filming, it's normal. I'm an actress now." The real reason was that to master Tan Zheng's personal habit of leaning into turns, which she had learned from Tang Qin Yun, her driving practice intensity had increased significantly every night. Furthermore, Sheng Jiang and the others would be returning to Star City for training in a couple of days, meaning she only had these remaining few days to practice diligently.
Tan Zheng gazed at Song Ni intently. He knew that Song Ni still went out after finishing work every night and didn't return until after midnight. He didn't pry out of respect for her, but that didn't mean he could ignore it or be indifferent. "Baby, I support whatever you do, but the prerequisite is that you must guarantee your health. You're too thin now." Filming with wires required core strength, and if she continued to lose weight, he would truly doubt whether Song Ni's slender waist could withstand the rigors of filming. "I know, I've been eating a lot every day. So, is it really because of me?" Tan Zheng snorted, his eyes narrowing with dissatisfaction towards Lu Fang. Seeing his reaction, Song Ni guessed it was likely that he saw her suffering during filming and, unable to bear it, could only vent his frustration by targeting Lu Fang. Thinking of this, Song Ni's heart felt as if it were filled with honey. Her mood improved, and she was willing to speak up for Lu Fang. "If it weren't for this role, I wouldn't even want to take this drama. I think this role is quite fun."
What could Tan Zheng say? Nothing, he could only indulge Song Ni helplessly. "Speaking of which, how long will Lu Fang and Liang Qian be entangled? I feel like Liang Qian still has feelings for Lu Fang." Tan Zheng seemed reluctant to discuss Lu Fang with Song Ni. "A grown man can't even pursue a woman, why do you care about him?" It made sense. After knowing what Lu Fang had done before, Song Ni felt he was still a novice when it came to dating. Awkward and immature. "Tsk, you didn't pursue me much either, so don't act like you're good at it." Tan Zheng curled his lips into a smile. "Do you need me to pursue you?" Song Ni frowned. "Why wouldn't I?" The man chuckled softly. "Don't I remember it was you who kept flirting with me at the beginning?" Song Ni: ... (End of Chapter)